Sickness
by xfilesguy123
Summary: Jake starts to get very sick after a run in with some bullies. As he grows weaker and weaker, it's up to his family and two doctors to save him. A lot more interesting then it sounds. Rated T for language and some violence
1. Chapter 1 Skater Boy Takes a Swim

Chapter 1 Skater Boy Takes a Swim

Jake Baker groaned as his mom, Kate, burst into his room. She sighed when she saw Jake was still in bed.

"Dude, three words: knock first," said Jake.

"Dude, two words: time for school," said Kate.

"Oh, can't I stay home today?" asked Jake.

"Are you sick?" asked Kate.

"No. I just don't want to go to school," said Jake.

"OK. No skateboarding for a month if you stay home though," said Kate.

"I'm up," said Jake, getting out of bed. Kate smiled and went to deal with the rest of her kids.

"Sara, stop bugging Lorraine," said Kate, walking down the hall.

"She's hogging the bathroom again," said Sara. Jake slowly got dressed. He hated mornings.

When he got downstairs, the kitchen was already in chaos. Someone had spilled milk and Gunner had slipped on it. He had crashed into the kitchen table and the Baker's breakfast had gone everywhere.

"Someone get a mop," yelled Tom Baker. Jake went to grab one out of the kitchen closet. He grabbed it and threw it to Tom.

"Thanks, Jake," said Tom. It took several minutes to clean up. Afterwards, there wasn't much left to eat. Jake grabbed a piece of toast and headed out the door. His best friend, Ryan Connors, and his mom, Joan, were waiting for him Jake outside.

"Come on, Jake. We're going to be late," said Ryan.

"I'm coming," said Jake. He hopped in Joan's mini-van.

"Morning, Jake," said Joan, pulling out of Jake's driveway.

"Hey, Mrs. Connors," said Jake.

"So are we on for tonight?" asked Ryan.

"Of course. I just got my new board yesterday," said Jake.

"Where are you guys skating tonight?" asked Joan.

"The new skate park that just opened called Skate Zone," said Jake.

"Woah. Isn't that the place where that kid got shot last week?" asked Joan.

"That was the midnight crowd. We're going at seven or eight," said Ryan.

"I don't know," said Joan.

"Dad said it was OK," said Ryan.

"What about your parents Jake?" asked Joan.

"They're cool with it. Just as long as I don't make stupid choices," said Jake. Joan sighed and then reluctantly said that Ryan could go.

Jake and Ryan both sighed as their math teacher, Mr. Crawford, who was at least eighty, continued to babble on. Ryan looked at Jake. I hate math, he mouthed. Jake nodded. The class dragged on for another forty minutes. Afterwards, Jake and Ryan met their friends Jeremy and Seth at lunch.

"You guys ready for an awesome night?" asked Jeremy.

"Yep," said Ryan.

"Claire Warner said she might be going. Huh, Jake? Claire Warner," said Seth.

"Shut up," said Jake. Seth laughed. All of his friends knew that Jake had a crush on Claire.

"I hear she's been talking with Todd Rogers," said Jeremy.

"Great. That kid hates me. If he catches me talking with Claire, he'll kill me," said Jake.

"Not if we're there. Bring her over to us tonight and start chatting her up. Todd won't start a fight if we're all there," said Ryan.

"Yeah," said Jake.

"Mom, where's my skateboard?" asked Jake.

"Your old or your new one?" asked Kate.

"My new one," said Jake, walking downstairs.

"I'm surprised you can find anything in that mess of a room," said Lorraine, walking by.

"Not talking to you," said Jake.

"I put it on the porch," said Kate. Jake found it leaning against the wall on the porch. He smiled as he looked at it. It was the best skateboard in the world. He loved it. It had been a birthday present from Kate. He had turned twelve a month earlier and hadn't been expecting much. But he had woken up to find a brand new skateboard leaning against the door of his room.

"Jake, dinner. You can't go unless you eat," said Kate.

"Ok, Mom," said Jake. He put down his skateboard and went inside for dinner.

Ryan showed about ten minutes later. Jake said goodbye to his family and ran to Ryan's car.

"Come on. Come on," said Ryan. It took twenty minutes to drive to the skate park. It was already a full house.

"Be safe. Ryan, I'll be back at ten to pick you up. Jake, you sure your mom is coming?" asked Joan.

"Yeah, at ten-thirty," said Jake.

"OK. Bye boys. Have fun," said Joan. Jake and Ryan skated off to go find Jeremy and Seth. They were already hanging out with a bunch of kids. One of them was Claire Warner. Jake and Claire spent a long time talking. Jake was quickly falling in love. Finally, after some taking and a lot of skating, he asked Claire out.

"Um, Claire, tomorrow, of you're not doing anything, would you like to go see a movie or something?" asked Jake. Claire thought about it for a moment.

"Yeah. Sure. That sounds great," said Claire.

"Great. Great. I'll pick you up at eight," said Jake. Claire stood up.

"OK. I've got to go but I'll see you tomorrow," said Claire. She ran off. Jake grinned at Ryan.

"You the man," said Ryan.

Ryan said goodbye to Jake at ten as he and his mom pulled away in their mini-van. Jake had a half hour to spare. He skated around the parking lot for about twenty minutes before someone ran out of the shadows.

"Talking to my girl, Baker," said a sinister voice.

"I was just talking," said Jake. Todd Rogers narrowed his eyes and then punched Jake in the face.

"I don't want you talking to her," said Todd. Two of Todd's friends walked up and together the trio gave Jake a beating. After they stopped, Todd picked up Jake's skateboard.

"This is nice," said Todd. He slammed the skateboard against a nearby fence. The board broke in two.

"Nice, Todd," said Bruce, one of Todd's friends.

"Throw him in the water," said Todd. The two goons picked up Jake and carried him over to a nasty canal near the park. The water was black and full of muck. Jake gagged as he was thrown in. His head went under and he swallowed some water. Todd and his friends laughed and walked away. Jake tried not to throw up as swam over to dry land. Jake crawled up the small hill leading up to the parking lot. He went over to his broken skateboard and sat down. He started to cry. After a few seconds, the nasty water got to him and he threw up. Kate was pulling up just as he threw up.

"Oh my God," said Kate. She got out of the car and ran over to Jake.

"Jake, baby, what happened?" asked Kate. She winced when she saw his face. His nose was bleeding and his bottom lip was wide open.

"They broke my board," said Jake through his tears. Kate helped him up.

"Let's go home," said Kate. She helped Jake to the car and threw the broken skateboard in the trunk. Jake felt miserable.

"It's OK, honey. I'll get you a new one," said Kate, getting in the car. Jake nodded. Kate sighed as she pulled away. If she had looked in the canal, she would have seen something that would indicate to her how much danger Jake was in. She would have seen that the canal was also full of toxic waste.


	2. Chapter 2 Blood at the Breakfast Table

Chapter 2 Blood At the Breakfast Table

"Hey, hey, Sara, stop pushing Mark," said Tom, trying to get a handle on Kyle and Nigel.

"He's always in the way," said Sara, going upstairs.

"I can't find Eggs," said Mark.

"I'm sure he's with Bacon," said Tom.

"He's not," said Mark.

"He's around here somewhere. Mike, I said time for bed," said Tom. Kate and Jake walked in at that moment.

"Hey, guys, my God, what happened?" asked Tom.  
"He was in a fight," said Kate.

"It's only a fight if the other guy gets hurt too," said Jake.

"Go upstairs and wash up. That canal water is going to start smelling," said Kate. Jake went upstairs. Ignoring a question from Sara about the blood on his face, Jake went into the bathroom and shut the door. Tom questioned Kate downstairs in the kitchen

"What happened?" asked Tom.

"Jake says he was talking with a girl and this guy got jealous and beat him up and threw him in this nasty canal. They also broke his board," said Kate.

"Oh, poor Jake," said Tom. Charlie ran downstairs.

"Mom, you better go check on Jake. He's throwing up and crying in the bathroom," said Charlie. Kate ran upstairs. Jake was leaning over the toilet and crying. He would sometimes throw up nasty, black vomit. The water was getting to him. He finally stopped puking.

"I'm OK," said Jake.

"You sure?" asked Kate, leaning down and rubbing his back.

"Yeah," said Jake, wiping his tears.

"Take a shower and I'll give you something to help you feel better," said Kate. Jake nodded. Kate left him in peace.

"Mom, what's wrong with Jake?" asked Lorraine, who was standing in the hall with Charlie.

"He had a run in with some nasty boys. They broke his board and threw him in a canal filled with bad water," said Kate.

"Oh my God," said Lorraine.

"Maybe he should go to the hospital," said Charlie.

"If he isn't better by tomorrow, I'll take him to the hospital," said Kate.

Jake took a thirty-minute shower. He scrubbed until skin started to peel off. Feeling better, he changed into his PJs and got into bed. Kate came in with a glass of water and some pills.

"Take these," said Kate.

"What are they?" asked Jake, sitting up.

"Antacids. It will help dissolve the stuff in your stomach," said Kate. Jake put the pills in his mouth and swallowed them with the water. Jake laid back down. Kate put the glass of water next to Jake's bed and gave Jake a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Get some sleep. We'll see how you are in the morning," said Kate. Jake nodded. Kate turned off the light and left. She would have to wait until morning.

"Kids, breakfast!" Tom's voice boomed through the house. Jake opened his eyes. He felt a lot better. He yawned and then got out of bed. He made his way downstairs. Sara and Kim were already eating. Tom was busy making French Toast.

"Hey. Feeling better?" asked Tom.

"Yeah," said Jake.

"Hungry?" asked Tom. Jake nodded.

"Here. Big, plate of food," said Tom, handing Jake a plate with three big, pieces of French Toast and some eggs. Jake started eating right away. He was starving.

"Slow down, little brother. Don't choke," said Sara. Soon everyone was downstairs and eating. Kate checked on Jake real fast.

"You OK?" asked Kate.

"I'm fine," said Jake.

"Ok," said Kate. She sat back down. The meal continued normally for a few minutes. Jessica and Kim were arguing with Henry about proper grammar and Lorraine was yelling at Sara about some missing make-up. Then Jake coughed. No one really paid any attention to it. But Jake was staring at his plate. When he had coughed, a tiny drop of blood had come out of his mouth. Jake looked around the table. No one had noticed. Jake coughed again, this time into his hand. His palm was now covered in blood. Then he spit out blood onto his plate. There was so much of it that it splattered all over the table. There were screams. There were gasps. Jake collapsed to the ground, coughing up more blood. Kate went over to him and started to comfort him.

"Tom, get the car started. We need to take Jake to the hospital," said Kate.

Jake was moaning the whole ride to the hospital. He was also developing a fever so he was soaked in sweat. As soon as they got to the hospital, the Bakers rushed Jake inside. Immediately, Jake was taken to the emergency room. The Bakers were told to wait.

One hour passed before a doctor came out.

"Are you the Bakers?" asked the doctor.

"Yeah," said Kate.

"I'm Dr. Steven White. Let's sit down," said the doctor. Tom and Kate sat down.

"There is something very wrong with your son. His lungs are filled with some sort of gunk or mud. We had to stick a hose down his throat to suck it out. He's still having stuff taken out as we speak," said Steven. Kate started to cry. Tom put an arm around her.

"Your son is very sick. He's going to need major care. And I can't offer that," said Steven.

"What?" asked Tom.

"I'm going to have to call in some specialists," said Steven.

"Can we see him?" asked Kate.

"Yeah. You and your family can come on back," said Steven. The Bakers followed Steven to a window looking into the room where doctors were clearing out Jake's lungs. Jake looked so weak and helpless. The hose had been shoved down his throat and was sucking up what looked like black slime. The doctors finished while the Bakers stood there. Jake was taken to a room. He couldn't breathe on his own so doctors put a tube down his throat. They offered little hope. Jake's life was in the hands of the specialists.


	3. Chapter 3 The Specialists

Chapter 3 The Specialists

Dr. David Gates did not like being woken up early in the morning. Especially when he was on vacation. So he was not happy when his phone rang at eleven in the morning.

"Damnit," said David, getting out bed. He stubbed his toe on the way to the kitchen, where the phone was ringing.

"Son of a bitch," said David. He was furious by the time he reached the phone.

"What?" asked David, answering.

"Good morning, sunshine," said the caller. David sighed.

"Steve, I'm on vacation," said David, walking over to the fridge.

"I've got a sick kid who needs your help," said Steven.

"Call Julia," said David, grabbing a milk carton out of the fridge.

"I'm going to. I need both of you," said Steven. David took a sip from the milk carton. He gagged. It was spoiled. David checked the expiration date. It had expired two days earlier.

"Why do you need both of us?" asked David, throwing the milk away.

"This kid is really sick. He's got fluid in his lungs and there's blood in his urine," said Steven.

"How old is he?" asked David.

"Eleven," said Steven. David sighed.

"Fine. I'll be there in an hour," said David.

"See you then," said Steven. He hung up. David groaned.

"My first vacation in a year and I only get three days off. Perfect."

Jake was off the respirator by the time David and his partner, Julia Harris, arrived. But he was still very sick. Steven took David and Julia to meet the Bakers. They were all in a waiting room.

"I'd like you all to meet Drs. David Gates and Julia Harris. They work for the CDC," said Steven.

"The what?" asked Henry.

"The Center for Disease Control," said Kim and Jessica in unison.

"Say what?" asked Mike, he still didn't get it

"You're a moron," Sarah answered

"These guys are Jake's best hopes," said Steven. David and Julia were looking over the results of tests Steven had run on Jake. They weren't really paying attention to Steven. David and Julia gave each other a look when they read Kate's report on what had happened.

"Where was this canal he was thrown into?" asked David.

"It's be a new skate park that just opened," said Kate.

"You want to check the boy out and I'll go see what I can dig up about the canal?" asked David.

"Sure," said Julia. David pulled Steven aside while Julia talked to the Bakers.

"Julia is going to examine and I can tell you right now she's going to want you to open him up and see if there's any other damage," said David.

"OK," said Steven.

"I'm ordering a CAT scan. See if his brain is functioning," said David. Steven nodded. David left to go check out the canal.

Julia first ordered a CAT scan on Jake. She and David were thinking the same thing. The scan showed that Jake's head was fine. Next Julia gave Jake a quick physical.

"Okay, open your mouth for me" Julia said to Jake

"Ahhhhhh" Jake did what he always did when a doctor checked his throat.

"Okay… now turn" Julia directed. She looked in one ear and then the other,

"Okay! Time for your eyes" Julia shined the light in each of Jake's eyes

"Ow how ow ow my eyes!" Jake yelled

"Sorry pal, you gotta hold still" Julia told him. Jake blinked his eyes, than opened them wide to try to make them feel better.

"Okay," Julia started, "now I'm going check your glands." she reached for Jake's neck, but he pulled back

"What are glands?" Jake asked. Julia pointed to where her own glands were to show Jake it was okay.

"They're these things right here". Julia finished checking him from the neck up. She took Jake's blood pressure and listened to his heart. All things considered, he seemed pretty normal.

"Alright, now I'm gonna check your stomach, you tell me if anything feels even the slightest bit funny"

"Okay" Jake agreed. Julia started pressing on his stomach. She started to get close to his bellybutton when Jake let out a yelp.

"What hurts?" Julia asked, she sounded concerned

"What's wrong?" Jake asked, he had heard the concern in her voice

"Nothing, nothing, what hurts" she needed this question answered. His answer could help determine her diagnosis.

"My bellybutton. When you push on it, it hurts" Jake answered

Oh no Julia thought He may have bleeding in his stomach. This could be serious. But Julia put her worries behind her and smiled for Jake

"Okay!" she said cheerfully, "All done!"

Julia met with Jake, Kate, and Steven in the examining room to let them now what was going to happen. Jake was lying on the table. Kate was rubbing his arm.

"I'm sorry to have to do this but I need to how bad the extent of the damage is. I'm ordering surgery on his stomach," said Julia. Steven nodded. Jake sat up.

"What? No, come on," said Jake.

"Um, he's never had surgery before," said Kate.

"It's the only way," said Steven.

Jake shared a tearful goodbye with his family. Julia met with Steven after Jake was fully prepped. Steven was just getting ready to cut Jake open.

"Steven, wait," said Julia. She was in OR scrubs.

"You want to help?" asked Steven.

"No. I'll watch. The boy's abdomen is weak. It's not firm. Be careful about cutting," said Julia.

"OK. Why? What are you thinking?" asked Steven. Julia sighed.

"David caught it right away. The boy may have ingested toxic waste," said Julia.


	4. Chapter 4 Jake's Condition

Chapter 4 Jake's Condition

Two hours into the operation, the Bakers still hadn't heard a thing. Kate was getting anxious. She started pacing the waiting room. After twenty minutes, Tom went over to Kate and put his hands on her shoulder.

"Kate, sit down," said Tom.

"No. I'm tired of sitting down," said Kate.

"Mom, please. You're going to worry yourself to death," said Nora, going over to Kate and Tom.

"I should have taken him to the hospital. Why didn't I?" Tom sighed. Kate was beating herself up.

"This isn't your fault," said Tom.

"I should have taken care of him. He's my son. I should have been a mother to him. I messed up." Kate started to cry. Tom helped her sit down.

In the operating room, Julia was watching the entire operation like a hawk. She had to make sure if there was a serious problem she caught it. Steven and another surgeon, Dr. Weaver, were sucking mud out of Jake's stomach.

"He swallowed a lot of mud," said Steven.

"Is it just mud?" asked Julia.

"Looks like it. But this is only the area around his liver. We haven't even started to look around the intestines," said Steven. Julia sighed.

"What does Dave hope to find at the canal?" asked Steven.

"Hopefully nothing. But if the boy did swallow anything harmful to him, we have to find out what it was and deal with it right away," said Julia. She gagged as the hoses made a loud, slurping sound.

"Grossed me out the first time I heard it too," said Weaver. Steven and Weaver finished their cleaning.

"We'll move these hoses before continuing," said Steven.

"What's left after the intestines?" asked Julia. The smell of blood and bodily fluids was getting to her.

"If we need to, we'll move to the bladder," said Weaver.

"Great," said Julia.

David leaned down next to the canal. The water looked dirty but he didn't see any sign of toxic waste. He found the spot where Jake had been beaten up. There was dried blood on the ground from when his lip had split open. David also found Jake's vomit. He let out a concerned sigh when he saw it. There was a hint of green mixed in with the black. To David, this could mean that Jake had possibly swallowed a large amount of toxic waste. And his insides might be slowly dying.

"How do you guys get used to this?" asked Julia, disgusted.

"Get used to what?" asked Steven.

"Digging through someone's insides," said Julia.

"It's just his intestines. It's not li-. Steven paused.

"I found something," said Steven.

"What?" asked Julia, peeking into Jake's open stomach. She groaned at what she saw.

"This kid is in a lot of trouble," said Julia. Part of Jake's intestines were burned. And to Julia, it looked like a chemical burn.

Jake was in surgery for two more hours. He lost two feet of his intestines. Steven went to talk to the Bakers. Julia found David waiting for him.

"He swallowed something. We just need to find out where the hell that st came from," said David.

"There's an industrial plant in town. Maybe we should start there," said Julia.

"How's the boy?" asked David.

"He's a tough, little guy. He made it through surgery fine. He's awake now and anxious to see his family," said Julia.

"We'll talk to them soon," said David.

Kate put a hand on Jake's cheek.

"Jake, baby," said Kate. Jake opened his eyes.

"Mom," said Jake, weakly.

"Yeah," said Kate.

"Am I OK?" asked Jake. He didn't notice that his family was around him.

"For right now," said Kate. Mike walked over to Jake's bed with Henry and Sarah behind him.

"Hey dude. How are you feeling?" asked Mike.

"My stomach hurts a little," said Jake.

"Well, duh, dude," said Sarah. Jake gave a weak smile.

"Hang in there, man. You'll get better," said Henry. He gave Jake a small high five.

"OK, guys. Let Jake rest," said Kate. Mike, Sarah, and Henry said goodbye to their brother and left. David and Julia walked in.

"Mrs. Baker, can we talk to you?" asked David.

"Sure. I'll be right back, sweetie," said Kate. Jake nodded. Kate followed David and Julia into the hall. Tom was there as well.

"Jake may be in grave danger," said Julia.

"There seems to be toxic waste in the canal he was thrown into. Now, Steven will probably be able to save him since we caught it early," said David.

"What do you mean probably?" asked Tom. David sighed.

"It's toxic waste, Mr. Baker. Jake could die in the next few minutes if he has a bad reaction to it," said David. Kate broke down. Tom comforted her as she cried her eyes out.

"We'll do everything in our power to make sure your son recovers," said Julia. Tom nodded and took Kate to be with the rest of her kids.

"Now what?" asked Julia.

"You take care of the boy. I'm going to make the sons of bitches who polluted that water pay," said David.

"How?" asked Julia.

"I'm calling in Chance," said David.

"Chance Connors? FBI agent Chance Connors?" asked Julia.

"Yeah. He's good at taking down evil companies," said David. Julia shook her head as David left to go call Chance.

"Breakfast up," yelled Chance Connors through his house. Ryan (yes, Jake's friend) came running down the stairs.

"Since when do you make breakfast?" asked Ryan.

"Oh, every once and while I'll make my world famous Belgian waffles," said Chance, handing Ryan his breakfast. The phone rang as Joan came down.

"Hello," said Joan, answering. There was a pause.

"Chance, it's your friend at the CDC," said Joan.

"Hey, Dave," said Chance, picking up the kitchen phone. There was a pause.

"Toxic waste? That is serious. What's the kids name?" Another pause.

"Jacob Baker. OK, I'll see you soon." Chance hung up. Ryan and Joan were giving him horrified looks.

"What?" asked Chance.

"What happened to Jake?" asked Ryan.

"Who?" asked Chance.

"Jacob Baker. The kid you were just talking about," said Joan.

"Dave says he was beaten up and thrown in a canal full of toxic waste. Why?" asked Chance.

"Dad, Jake is my best friend," said Ryan.

"Oh," said Chance.

"Finish up, Ryan. We'll go visit him," said Joan. She turned her attention to Chance.

"How bad is he?" asked Joan.

"I don't know. I just know that he had surgery to see the extent of the damage. Dave didn't go into details," said Chance.

"Open," said Julia. Jake opened his mouth so Julia could look inside.

"Seems OK," said Julia. Jake moaned.

"My stomach really hurts," said Jake.

"It's your first surgery. It will hurt for a little while," said Julia.

"Can I see my family?" asked Jake.

"Yeah. I'll send a few of them in," said Julia. She looked towards the doorway. Chance had arrived.

"Hey, Chance," said Julia. Chance walked into the room.

"Hey. Where's Dave?" asked Chance.

"He'll be here. This is Jake," said Julia.

"Yeah. My son's friend," said Chance.

"What?" asked Jake.

"I'm Ryan's dad," said Chance.

"Oh. Nice to meet you, Mr. Connors," said Jake.

"He likes to go by, Agent Connors," said Julia. Chance gave her a look. Joan and Ryan arrived.

"Oh my God. Jake," said Ryan, walking over to Jake.

"Hey," said Jake.

"What happened?" asked Ryan.

"Todd had a little talk with me," said Jake.

"That jerk," said Ryan.

"Chance, why don't you go after the punks who beat him up?" asked Joan.

"I can do that," said Chance.

"I was going to head over to the industrial plant by the skate park. I could use some FBI support," said David.

"Let's go," said Chance. David and Chance left. Julia went to get Jake's family.

"So how do you feel?" asked Ryan.

"Like someone rearranged my insides," said Jake.

"I'm sorry Todd beat you up. Now I feel guilty that I left you," said Ryan.

"Don't. He would have thrown you in the water as well," said Jake.

"How was surgery?" asked Joan.

"It was fine. I felt awful when I woke up," said Jake. Kate and Nora walked in at that moment. The rest of the kids were at school.

"Oh, Jake, sweetie, how are you?" asked Nora. This was her first time seeing Jake since the incident.

"I'm OK I guess," said Jake. As Jake was bombarded with question, Julia was looking over the latest test results. The news was not good. Jake's heart was starting to become effected. His spleen was so damaged that it would need to be taken out. And the worst of it was, Jake wasn't getting any better.


	5. Chapter 5 A Sibling's Gift

This chapter was written by a friend of mine.

Chapter 5 A Sibling's Gift

"Okay, so what do we do?" Julia asked, holding the test results in her hands. Steven walked in the room rubbing his eyes,

"How's it look?" he asked. Julia shook her head,

"Not good. You saw that burn during surgery, that can't be good."

"How do you think it happened?" Steven asked.

"Probably chemicals of some sort" Julia sighed.

"Are you sure?" Steven questioned.

"Yeah" Julia answered with a worried tone. "Unfortunately I don't think this kid's a flame either"

"Hah" Steven chuckled. "Yeah, guess not." There was a sorrowful silence for a few minutes before Steven broke it, "So what's the next step?" he asked. Julia sighed,

"Another physical." she continued to flip through the test results with Steven looking over her shoulder. Everything looked normal, relatively speaking.

"Alright," Julia sighed, "I'm off. Let's see how he's doing" She dropped the papers on the desk. They fanned out and something caught Steven's eye.

"Wait" he stopped Julia, "What's this?" he questioned. Julia looked down where he was pointing. She stared for a while as her mouth dropped open. She put her hand over her mouth,

"Oh no" she whispered."

"What is it?" Steven asked.

"Look" Julia pointed down. She pointed to the kidneys. There were splotches of black.

"Uh oh" Steven whispered. He looked at Julia. He mouthed something; Julia nodded, pursed her lips, looked down at the floor, and sighed.

"I'll go do the physical and inform the parents," She said.

"Do you want me to?" Steven asked Julia,

"No thanks, I'm on it," She answered.

Julia walked into the waiting room where Jake and Kate were quietly waiting. Jake's face was tearstained, his eyes, red and puffy. He was sitting with his head in his knees. Kate was rubbing his back, trying to comfort him. Julia heard muffled sobs coming from Jake as Kate whispered comforting things in his ears. "Ehem" Julia cleared her throat. Kate looked up, Jake sat up and wiped his tears.

"Jake, I'm going to have to take you in for another check up, pal. I'm sorry" Julia said quietly. Kate noticed the worry in her eyes, but didn't say a word. She didn't want to worry Jake.

"Alright bud, let's take a look" Julia said as Jake sat up on the examination table. "Tell me what hurts"

"Everything" Jake moaned

"Hmm, can you be a little more specific?" she asked. Jake rolled his eyes. "Come on, I gotta know this stuff"

"Everything" Jake insisted. He was choking on tears.

"Okay, does your head hurt?" Julia asked. She needed specific answers, and Jake just wasn't helping her.

"Yeah" Jake answered. "I feel like I got hit in the head with a hammer"

"Oh boy" Julia said. "Maybe its just from crying… sometimes that happens you know. Crying can give you headaches"

"Yeah I guess" Jake replied, "Ahh!" Jake moaned, grabbing his head

"What is it Jake?" Julia answered. No response, "Jake!" she yelled

"Aaahhh, it hurts!" Jake screamed, twisting his body. He started to cry, still holding his head

"What hurts Jake!" Julia was panicking

"My head… that noise!"

"Okay, okay," Julia tried to soothe Jake. After about five minutes, Jake stopped screaming.

"You need some rest" Julia said. "We can finish this in a few hours."

"Thank you" Jake sighed. He began to lie down on the table. Julia left the room and shut off the light

"Night, Jake" she whispered

Out in the hallway, Kate ran up to Julia.

"What was that?" she demanded.

"Just a little sinus headache" Julia answered, lying through her teeth. "Mrs. Baker," she started. It was time for serious matters. "Please sit down."

"What is it?" Kate asked. She sounded nervous.

"Kate," Julia took a deep breath, "Jake is suffering from kidney failure. If we wait any longer then three days, it will kill him"

Kate gasped and put her hand over her mouth.

"What can we do?" she asked, trembling

"We need to find a donor," Julia answered

"Who?" Kate sighed

"A sibling would be the best match," Julia said

"Okay," Kate said, "Give me an hour or so. I'll find someone." She got up and walked out of the hospital. Julia sat in the waiting room, watching Jake sleep through the window. Oh please she thought, looking up at the ceiling Please don't let anything happen to this boy… he's too young

Meanwhile, Kate was speeding home. She parked the car in the driveway, and ran into the house. "Kids, on the carpet. NOW!" she demanded.

"What's up dude?" Mike asked, rubbing his eyes. "I was taking a nap"

"Where are your brothers and sisters?" Kate asked, shaking

"Right here mom" Sarah answered. She appeared on the stairs with Henry and Charlie.

"Listen kids" Kate started, "I really don't know how to say this."

"Oh no" Sarah trembled, grabbing Charlie's hand. Her lips started to quiver.

"Jake's okay… for the moment" Kate reassured them. "But we have a problem, and only one of you can fix it"

"What is it mom?" Charlie asked

"Jake's kidneys are failing. He needs a new one or else he won't make it"

"So… what can we do?" asked Mike

"Julia says a sibling would have the best match so…" Kate started.

"I'll do it" Sarah declared, stepping down off the steps, she was shaking. "If that's what its gonna take to save Jake… I'll do anything"


	6. Chapter 6 Brave Little Girl

Chapter 6 Brave Little Girl

Chance read over Jake's files as he and David drove towards the industrial plant.

"This poor kid," said Chance.

"Yeah. If he has bad reaction to the st inside of him, he's screwed,"ﾝ said David. He could see the chemical plant in the distance.

"This could have all been an accident. It doesn't really matter if a nasty canal is polluted," said Chance. David pulled up to the main gate. A security guard walked out of a hut.

"Can I help you?" asked the guard.

"I'm with the CDC. I need to speak with the supervisor on duty right now,"ﾝ said David.

"Who's your friend?"ﾝ asked the guard.

"I'm with the FBI,"ﾝ said Chance, holding out his badge.

"Go on. I'll let the supervisor know you're coming," said the guard. He opened the gate. David drove towards the main building. A man was walking out the front door. David and Chance got out of the car.

"Hi. I'm John Meyers. I'm the primary supervisor here,"ﾝ said the man, shaking David's hand.

"David Gates CDC,"ﾝ said David.

"Chance Connors FBI," said Chance, shaking John's hand.

"What can I do for you gentlemen?"ﾝ asked John.

"It seems that some toxic waste has been polluting a nearby canal. A boy fell into that canal and now he's really sick,"ﾝ said David.

"Oh dear. I'm sorry. That's our fault. Sometimes the disposal team will get lazy and just dump into that canal. They figure no one's going to be swimming in an already disgusting canal," said John.

"The boy was thrown in," said Chance.

"I'll take care of this. Thank you for informing me,"ﾝ said John.

"I'll be back soon to make sure you're disposing of waste properly," said David.

"No problem. Have a nice day,"ﾝ said John. He went back inside.

"That was too easy,"ﾝ said Chance, getting back into the car.

"Let's wait to see what happens,"ﾝ said David. Inside the building, John was making a phone call.

"Yes,"ﾝ said the man on the other end.

"It's me. We've got a problem."ﾝ

Sarah was sitting on the examining table when Julia walked in to examine her before the transplant.

"Hi, honey. My name's Julia,"ﾝ said Julia, using a sweet voice to calm Sarah's nerves.

"You're the one taking care of Jake?" ﾝasked Sarah.

"One of the people taking care of him,"ﾝ said Julia. Sarah nodded.

"What you're doing is very brave, Sarah,"ﾝ said Julia.

"I just want to help my brother," said Sarah.

"And your kidney is going to help him. But before we get started I just need to make sure you're in good condition for the operation,"ﾝ said Julia.

"OK,"ﾝ said Sarah.

"OK, I need you lay down on your back,"ﾝ said Julia. Sarah did as she was told. Julia lifted up her shirt.

"You tell me if anything hurts," said Julia. Sarah nodded. Julia began feeling her stomach.

"Anything?"ﾝ asked Julia. Sarah shook her head.

"Good. One last thing and then it's surgery time,"ﾝ said Julia. She pulled over a machine.

"I'm going to do something called an ultrasound. This will let me know what condition your kidneys and other organs are in," said Julia. Sarah nodded. Julia put some cold gel on Sarah's stomach. Sarah winced.

"That's really cold,"ﾝ said Sarah. Julia nodded. She smiled when she saw Sarah was in good health.

"Perfect. We're all set,"ﾝ said Julia.

"Can I see Jake before our surgery?"ﾝ asked Sarah.

"Of course,"ﾝ said Julia. Sarah changed into a hospital gown and then followed Julia into the surgical prep area. Jake was lying on his stomach with Kate rubbing his back. It was apparent that Jake had been crying.

"Hey, dude,"ﾝ said Sarah. She leaned down and kissed Jake's cheek. Jake smiled and moved onto his back. He held out his arms and Sarah gave him a hug.

"Thanks for helping me,"ﾝ said Jake.

"Anything for my little brother,"ﾝ said Sarah. Jake smiled. Sarah helped him lie back down. She could tell he was weak. He was barely able to hold himself up.

"Jake needs to go now," said a nurse walking in. Sarah gave Jake one last kiss.

"See you later,"ﾝ said Sarah. Jake was wheeled off to surgery. Kate turned her attention to Sarah.

"My brave little girl," said Kate, giving Sarah a hug. Julia walked in with two nurses.

"It's time,â" said Julia.

David got back to the hospital two hours later. He met up with Julia.

"Hey. How's the transplant going?"ﾝ asked David.

"How'd you know about that?"ﾝ asked Julia.

"Nurse told me," said David.

"The girl's kidney is being put into Jake know. I was going to see how she is," said Julia. "How'd it go at the plant?

"The guy I talked to says they'll stop polluting,"ﾝ said David. They arrived at Sarah's OR. She was being closed up. She was still asleep She was so drugged up that her tongue was hanging out of the side of her mouth. But she was breathing on her own.

"She'll do fine,"ﾝ said David. A nurse walked up to David and Julia.

"Test results on Jake's new kidney," said the nurse. David looked it over.

"Fk," said David.

"What?"ﾝ asked Julia. David shook his head.

"Strike one,"ﾝ said David.


	7. Chapter 7 In Search of a Donor

Chapter 7 In Search of a Donor

Kate sat there, in the busy waiting room, hysterically crying. Everything was bustling around her, yet her world stood still. Jake's kidney from Sarah had been rejected; they needed another one. But how would she break it to her children? How would she tell Sarah everything she'd gone through didn't work out in the end? How could she do that to her daughter? Kate didn't know, but she had to. She stood up and walked over to Jake's room, she put her hand on the window and blew him a kiss. Then she went over to Sarah. "My brave little girl" she whispered. Kate looked up at the ceiling, "Oh please, let her be okay." She looked back at the window. "My baby." Kate sighed and walked out of the hospital.

Back at the Baker house, Kate pulled into the driveway and trudged into the house. She opened the door slowly, as not to call attention to herself. She was hoping for a rest, only five minutes to think of a way to ask her kids for another donor. But living with a husband, a dog, and twelve kids, not a chance.

"MOMMMMMMMMM!" mike screamed bounding down the steps, "How's Jake! How's Jake!" he was jumping

"Sorry mom!" Lorraine yelled running down the steps after Mike. She caught up to him and held him around his chest, "I found him passed out on his bed with like a thousand pixy stix wrappers scattered all over his floor… guess he woke up"

"Yeah" Kate sighed, "Guess so"

"Mom" Lorraine sounded worried, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing" she answered

"Mom" Charlie said coming into the foyer. He knew she was hiding something, and he planned to get it out of her

"Mikey, go run upstairs and tell your brothers and sisters to come down here. But give me a few minutes first. Charlie and Lorraine, you stay with me"

What is it mom?" asked Lorraine, she was worried, but tried to hide it. Charlie put his arm around her and held her. Kate motioned for them to sit down next to her, and they did as they were told.

"Guys," she started hesitantly, "the kidney Sarah gave Jake failed… he need's a new one or else he won't make it" Tears started to well up in her eyes. Lorraine bit her lip and Charlie put his head in his hands. He rubbed them down his face and put them over his mouth.

"So what now? Can he get another kidney?" he asked

"Yeah" Kate answered, "But the closest match would be from a sibling… preferably a younger one" Kate finished, as Charlie started to volunteer.

"So just ask them" Lorraine said

"It's not that simple honey" Kate retorted shaking her head, "I wish it was though, I wish it was" she sighed, burying her head in her hands.

The kids filed downstairs, gathering in the living room around Kate who was softly sobbing on the couch. The younger kids didn't know anything was wrong, but the older ones knew better.

"Okay guys" Henry directed, "Let's wait a little while"

"But mom called us down here" Nigel protested

"Well forget about it right now" Lorraine answered gruffly. Mark sensed the hostility and fear in her voice and shot Charlie a look. Charlie shot one back saying 'don't worry about it' but that didn't comfort Mark, not one bit.

"it's okay guys" Charlie said, "follow me" as he began herding his younger siblings up the stairs. Kate collected herself. She took one long, deep breath, smoothed her hair, and itched her nose.

"It's okay Charlie" she said. "Kids," she started slowly. Mark got a worried look on his face. He wanted to ask what was wrong with all his heart, but he knew better. He kept his mouth shut, but still the thoughts of everything that could have possibly happened to Jake or Sarah haunted his young mind.

Mark stood patiently waiting for Kate to speak, but as he watched her smooth her hair and take deep breaths, he couldn't take it anymore,

"Okay!" Mark snapped, "What's wrong, Mom… what's – wrong?" he was exasperated. "Sorry Charlie" he whispered, Charlie nodded in acceptance.

Kate looked up, "Kids" she started, "We had a little problem down at the hospital" All of the kids' mouths dropped open, "Its nothing too serious" Kate said, lying through her teeth. "Listen kids, Sarah's kidney didn't work in Jake's body. We need another donor" she looked at her children pleadingly, but no one stepped forward. Nigel shot a glance at Charlie.

"Sorry Nigel," Charlie said, "We need a younger sibling… me, Lorraine, Nora, and Henry are out. Same with Sarah now I guess"

The younger kids looked around nervously. "Okay kids" Kate said, "Its been a long day, you guys just go upstairs and sleep on it. I need one of you to be brave… Jake needs someone to be brave"

The kids filed upstairs, scattering into their rooms, though no one went alone. Mike and Mark went into Mike's room, Jessica and Kim went into theirs, Nigel and Kyle ran into Kate and Tom's room, while Lorraine and Henry followed Charlie into his room.

IN CHARLIE'S ROOM

"What if no one volunteers?" Lorraine asked nervously, sitting down on Charlie's bed. Henry turned a chair around and sat down backwards.

"Don't go there right now Lorraine" Charlie sighed.

"Yeah" Henry agreed, "We don't know for sure that no one will step up"

"Right" Lorraine sighed, but the tension in the room told no lies.

All three of them were worried, what if no one volunteered? What would happen to Jake? Those thoughts haunted their minds, as they sat there anxiously, ready to put on happy faces for the younger kids.

IN MIKE'S ROOM

"Wow," Mark sighed, his eyes wide open, "That was a wake up call" Mike just sat there, shaking on his bed. "Mike, you okay?" Mark asked, looking at his ghostly white brother, "Mike!" Mark was alarmed.

"Jake's gonna die!" Mike shouted. As soon as he said this, his eyes opened wide and he cuffed his hand over his mouth. Mark just stood there, staring at Mike. "If no one steps up," Mike cried, "Jake's gone" Mark went over and sat next to Mike, but Mike got up to pace.

"Don't talk like that" Mark tried to comfort Mike.

Mike grabbed his brother's shoulders and looked him in the eye, "Listen to me Mark" Mike whispered trembling, "If nobody donates that kidney, Jake's gonna die" Mike looked up at the ceiling as tears rolled down his face.

"So, why don't you do it?" Mark asked quietly. Mike looked at him as more tears fell down his cheeks

"Because I'm scared!" he yelled. Mike sat back down and buried his head in his hands, "because I'm scared", he sobbed shaking his head.

"What are you scared about?" Mark tried to comfort his brother

For a few minutes, Mike didn't answer. Mark started to get up to head for the door. "Look at Sarah, Mark" Mike wiped his tears and sniffed, "Didn't you see her at the hospital?" Mike was clearly having a break down, "She's a mess Mark! She's a mess!" he wailed.

Mark ran over to Mike and gave him a huge hug, "But she's okay now Mikey" he said softly

"I know that" Mike sighed, "But she was in so much pain… Sarah, of all people, if she can't handle that operation, I don't know who can"

"Mike" Mark whispered as he held Mike. The two of them sat there, comforting each other for about ten minutes. Then Mark spoke up, "Would it make you feel better if you could talk to Sarah about what donating a kidney takes?"

Mike looked up at Mark, his face was tearstained, his eyes bloodshot, "Uh huh" he said, between sobs.

"If you did that, would you go through and give Jake your kidney?" Mark asked, Mike nodded, "Come on" Mark said, leading Mike into the hallway, "Let's go talk to Mom"


	8. Chapter 8 Sarah's Agony

Chapter 8 The Second Transplant and Sarah's Agony

Sarah sighed as she was taken to Jake's room in a wheelchair. She was too weak to walk. It had taken awhile to persuade her nurse to let her see Jake. Sarah cringed when she saw her brother. He had a mask over his face and he looked very pale. Bloody spit was in the corners of his mouth. His lips looked discolored, like a dull pinkish color. Jake's stomach still had some dried blood on it. He was in a diaper since he was losing control of his bodily functions.

"Hey, Sarah," said Jake in a weak voice that made Sarah's heart sink. She had never seen Jake so weak and helpless.

"Hi. I'm sorry my kidney didn't help," said Sarah. Jake shook his head.

"It's not your fault," said Jake. He coughed. Sarah held his hand in hers.

"Sarah-" he choked out his sister's name.

"Try not to talk. Just rest. Just rest," said Sarah. Tears fell down Jake's face. Sarah ran her other hand down her brother's cheek. Jake coughed. Sarah wished she could do something to help her brother. But she was powerless.

"Mom-" Jake let out a choked cry.

"Mom?" asked Sarah, confused.

"I…want…Mom…to…be…here…" Sarah couldn't believe it. Jake's tough guy attitude was gone. He wanted Kate to be there. Sarah could see it in his eyes as well. He wanted his mother to comfort him.

"She'll be here soon. She just went home for a second," said Sarah. Jake looked at Sarah for a few moments. He looked scared and hurt. He then took the mask off his face.

"Jake, what are you doing?" asked Sarah. Jake motioned for Sarah to lean in close to him. Sarah leaned towards Jake's face. His breath hit her face and she almost gagged. She could smell blood on his breath.

"I…love…you…" Jake was barely able to get the words out. Sarah sucked in a breath, Jake was getting ready to die. He was giving up.

"Jake, don't you dare give up. You're going to be fine," said Sarah. She put the mask back over his face. Jake fell asleep. Sarah kissed his forehead and then asked to be taken back to her room. Halfway down the hall, Sarah Baker had the worst stomach ache in her life. She gasped as she wrapped her arms around her stomach and fell out of the wheelchair. Then everything went black.

David sighed as he walked into Sarah's room. She was on life support. Julia was standing over her.

"What's wrong with her?" asked David.

"Not sure. The nurse says she just collapsed," said Julia.

"Kate Baker just called. She found a donor," said David.

"Good," said Julia.

"One problem though. He wants to talk to Sarah. And since she's unavailable, he might think this is a complication from the operation and he won't agree to go through with the transplant," said David.

"Then have him talk to his brother," said Julia.

"Good idea," said David.

Mike held Kate hands as he was led towards Jake's room. David was standing outside Jake's room.

"How is he?" asked Kate.

"He's awake and breathing somewhat on his own. But he'll get worse and worse as the kidney continues to fail. Unless of course," started David.

"I save him," said Mike. David nodded and then let Kate and Mike into Jake's room. Jake smiled when he saw them.

"Mom," said Jake, raising his arms. Kate leaned down and gave her son a hug. Jake held Kate tight as he let out a cry.

"Jakey, someone wants to talk to you," said Kate. Jake looked at Mike.

"Hey, Mikey," said Jake. He coughed.

"Hey," said Mike. It was a shock to Mike to see Jake in such a weak state. Mike knew he had to help his brother. Jake had helped him before when he was in trouble. Now Mike was going to return the favor.

"I'll do it," said Mile, looking at Kate. Kate looked at David.

"There you go," said Kate. David nodded.

"I'll go get Steven," said David.

The man sat in the office, casually smoking a cigarette and drinking a glass full of scotch. John Meyers walked in.

"Troy. It's good to see you," said John.

"If we could get on with it, John," said Troy Walker, taking another sip of scotch.

"I've got a small problem. Some kid has gotten sick off the plant's waste. He was thrown into one of those polluted canals," said John.

"John. I can't help you every time a kid falls into one of those canals," said Troy.

"The CDC and FBI are involved," said John. Troy took another sip of scotch.

"Now that changes things," said Troy.

"I need you to make this problem go away. And I don't care how many people have to die," said John.


	9. Chapter 9 The Transplant

Chapter 9

Mike sat on the gurney, waiting to be taken into the OR or be told that he didn't match. Doctors were running a blood test to see if his kidney would work in Jake's body. Jake was asleep in a gurney nearby. Kate was holding Mike's hand and rubbing Jake's head. David and Julia walked in. Kate and Mike looked at them.

"It's a match," said David, encouragingly. Mike smiled. He would be able to help his brother.

"Jake will go in first. Mike will go in about a hour later," said David. Mike nodded and laid down. Jake woke up and looked around.

"What's going on?" asked Jake, sleepily.

"We found a match for you, honey," said Kate. Jake looked over at his brother. Mike gave him a reassuring smile. Jake smiled back as he was wheeled away.

"I'll be right back, sweetie," said Kate to Mike. Mike nodded. Kate went to be with Jake as he was put to sleep. David would be observing Jake's surgery with Julia observing Mike's. He was waiting for Kate outside the OR doors.

"You'll have a little more then a minute to be with him," said David.

"OK. How long will the operation take?" asked Kate, as she put on some OR scrubs.

"About two hours. Maybe three. I'm sure he'll do fine. He's had two operations already and he does great each time," said David. Kate nodded and followed David into the OR. Jake was already on the operating table. Kate walked over to him and rubbed his head. David watched as Kate comforted her son as Jake became more and more sleepy.

"I love you so much and I'll see you soon," said Kate. She kissed Jake on the mouth right before he fell asleep. She stepped back as Jake was put under anesthesia.

"He's in good hands," said David.

"I can't thank you and your partner enough for helping him," said Kate.

"You can thank us when he's no longer in danger," said David. Jake was fully prepped. Kate stared at him. The tube in his mouth made him look helpless. Kate sighed and went to be with Mike.

"OK. Let's begin," said the head surgeon. David watched as the surgical team made the first cut into Jake's stomach.

Mike cried as Julia and two nurses arrived to take him to the OR.

"Mike, it will be OK. You're just going to sleep for a few hours," said Kate. Kate picked him up and carried him to the OR. She held him as he was put to sleep. His crying died down to whimpering as the drugs took effect. Mike was soon fast asleep. Kate left as Mike was prepped and opened up.

Chance sighed as he walked inside. He could hear Ryan crying in the bathroom and Lisa trying to get him to cooperate. Chance knocked on the door.

"Yeah," said Lisa. Chance walked in. Ryan looked awful. He had just been jumped by five thugs at the skate park. He had been caught talking to Claire Warner. Lisa had called Chance as she was driving Ryan home. Chance cringed at the sight of his son. Ryan's nose was bleeding and he had a nasty looking black eye. Both his lips were gushing blood. His shirt was off, revealing bruises on his chest and stomach. Lisa was trying to clean Ryan up but his wounds stung too much.

"Ryan, who did this?" asked Chance.

"The same guys who beat up Jake," said Ryan, through his tears. He winced as Lisa cleaned off his lips.

"You need to go the hospital," said Chance.

Julia sighed as her beeper went off. She turned her attention away from the surgical team working on Mike. Steven was paging her.

"How much longer until you remove the kidney?" asked Julia.

"Half hour," said the head surgeon. Julia nodded and walked over to the anesthesiologist, who was monitoring Mike through the operation.

"How is he?" asked Julia.

"He's doing great," said the anesthesiologist. Julia looked down at Mike. Save for the tube in his mouth and the tape over his eyes, Mike looked fine.

"I'll be back soon," said Julia. She walked out of the operating room.

Steven was waiting for Julia in Sarah's room. He handed Julia some pictures taken from an ultrasound.

"Found out what's causing her pain," said Steven. Julia looked at the pictures and shook her head.

"A mass in her abdomen. You need to remove that so we can check to see if it's cancerous," said Julia.

"I know. This poor family. I can't imagine what they're feeling," said Steven.

"I know. And I have feeling it's only going to get worse," said Julia.


	10. Chapter 10

My writing partner wrote the first little bit of the chapter so the writing style will change a few paragraphs in. This chapter kind of brings everything to conclusion since some really bad stuff will start happeneing.

Chapter 10

The doors of the ER swung open as Chance and Lisa brought Ryan in to get him checked out. Lisa was hyperventilating and Ryan was still in tears. Chance was doing his best to keep his wife and son calm, but wasn't doing a great job. Chance walked up to the desk "excuse me miss" he said to the nurse, "my son…" he couldn't finish, we wasn't really sure how to explain it, so he just pointed to Ryan. The nurse cringed. "my baby!" Lisa moaned.

"Ma'am, ma'am" the nurse said, trying to calm Lisa down, "You're son is going to be just fine" The nurse called a few doctors and seconds later, there was a stretcher for Ryan. Chance picked his son up and plopped him onto the stretcher. "Ma'am, I'm Doctor Brady" a man in a white coat said, "We're just going to take (looking down at a file) Ryan in for a little check up. We'll get him cleaned up and do a little examination to make sure there's nothing serious we can't see"

Lisa and Chance smiled and kissed Ryan goodbye. Chance held Lisa in his arms as they watched their bleary eyed son being wheeled away. They sat down and did the only thing they could; wait.

Dr. Brady stood by Ryan's bed on the way to the examination room. He made eye contact the whole way with him, so that Ryan would know he was safe.

"Don't worry son," Brady could sense the fear in Ryan's eyes, "you're going to be just fine. This is just to clean you up, and the examination is strictly cautionary" Ryan smiled a weak smile and closed his eyes.

The doctors picked Ryan up off the stretcher and laid him down onto a bed in a private room. Brady and his team began cleaning Ryan up. They found that some of his cuts were deeper than others and would most likely require stitches. Ryan yelped in pain as one cut on his eyebrow stung as Brady cleaned it. Brady had to call Chance and Joan in to calm Ryan down so he could stitch up the cuts. Ryan cried and screamed as four cuts were stitched up. Ryan received a total of 21 stitches. After calming Ryan down with some medicine, Brady explained to Chance and Joan what injuries would need to be fixed in the OR.

"The injuries could have been a lot worse. The main thing that will need to be taken care of is Ryan's spleen. That seems to have burst so it will need to be removed. Also his lips will need some work. I normally wouldn't be worried about an injury to the lips but since your son's lips are unusually thick for a boy his age, we need to play it safe." Ryan started to cry. Brady excused himself so Chance and Lisa could have a moment alone with their son. Joan held Ryan in her arms as Chance rubbed his back. They figured it was best to just let him cry.

"I don't want to go into surgery," said Ryan, through his tears.

"It's the best thing for you, buddy," said Chance. Ryan cried for a few more minutes before finally calming down. Chance and Joan helped him change into a hospital gown and then took him to the surgical waiting area. They were told only one of them could go in. Joan went with him since she had down the OR thing with him before. Ryan cried a little more as he was put to sleep. Joan stayed with him right until he was completely asleep. She gave him one last kiss and then left Ryan in the hands of the surgeons.

David watched as Jake was wheeled to recovery. The operation had been a complete success. Mike's kidney was working perfectly in Jake. Julia walked up to David.

"Jake's friend Ryan was just taken into surgery. Looks like he got his ass kicked by the same punks who threw Jake in the canal," said Julia.

"Chance won't let them get away with that," said David.

"And I need you down in examining room nine. A woman just brought her son in. The boy is a regular at the same skate park," said Julia.

"Is he as sick as Jake?" asked David, as he and Julie started walking towards the room.

"Not as bad but he's in a lot of pain. He says he knows Jake and Ryan and that he is one of Jake's best friends," said Julia.

"Was he thrown in that canal too?" asked David.

"No. Dave, if this boy got sick off bad water that means that toxic shit is infecting the drinking water. We need to stop the infection before people outside of the skate park get sick," said Julia.

"Let's examine him first," said David. They reached the examining room. A boy of about thirteen was lying on the examining table. His mother was doing her best to console him.

"Hi, I'm Dr. David Gates. This is Julia Harris," said David.

"Natalie Myers. This is my son, Colton," said the mother, shaking David's hand.

"So what's wrong, pal?" asked David.

"My stomach hurts really bad," said Colton.

"When did this stomach ache start?" asked David.

"Last night," said Colton. David helped Colton move onto his back so he could examine him. Colton lifted up his shirt. He moaned as David felt his stomach.

"What hurts the most?" asked David.

"The area around my bellybutton," said Colton.

"Anywhere else?" asked David.

"No," said Colton. David bit his lip.

"I think your appendix burst. You'll need surgery and that's about it," said David. Colton nodded. David pulled Julia aside.

"Appendix?" asked Julia.

"It has the all the tell tales of a burst appendix. I want you to oversee the operation. If there is more blood or puss then usual, then have the surgeon open him up completely. Now his appendix could have been irritated by whatever is in that water. We should keep our eye out for more skaters with bad stomach aches."

"No problem," said Julia. She went to comfort Colton and his mom. David went to check on Jake.

Jake was stable and was recovering nicely. Mike had just come out of surgery and was also doing fine. Kate was sitting next to Jake's bed, holding his hand.

"He seems to be doing a lot better," said Kate.

"Yeah. The new kidney is going to do wonders," said David.

"Any word on Sarah?" asked Kate.

"Her operation started about an hour ago. We don't think the mass is cancerous," said David.

"Oh thank God," said Kate. "Um, how long are the boys going to be asleep?"

"Jake should be waking up soon. Mike may be asleep a little longer just cause he's younger. But they'll be fine," said David. Kate smiled and shook her head.

"If anything comes up, just let a nurse know," said David.

"OK. Thank you," said Kate. David nodded and walked off.

Meanwhile Ryan's operation was going smoothly. His lips were almost fixed and no other major problems had shown up. Two hours into the operation, the doctors finished working on his lips. They carefully placed some gauze in Ryan's mouth. They had to be careful so they wouldn't knock the air tube out of Ryan's mouth. They then started to cut Ryan's stomach open so they could remove his spleen. In the waiting room, Chance and Lisa could only wait and pray.


End file.
